Students of Mass Communication Department, Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Ilorin, on Wednesday unveiled a digital newsroom to aid news writing and reportage of activities within and outside the institution.
The students also inaugurated the mass communication staff common room named after the Acting Vice Chancellor (VC), Prof. Saka Mahmud.
Inaugurating the two facilities, Mahmud described the projects as great initiatives by the students.
He promised that the management would provide more equipment and furniture for the newsroom to provide comfort for the use of the students.
”You have taken this bold step already, so you need to be encouraged by having more equipment to work with as well as working in more conducive environment.
”We want to make things as easy as possible because students form a major component in a school, without you people, KWASU will just be a research centre,” Mahmud said.
The acting VC however urged the students to make the production of the department’s newspaper and magazine a regular feature of their activities.
The project lecturer, Mr Yusuf Suleiman, said the idea was borne out of the need for the department to be up-to-date with growing digital and technological driven communication world.
”The essence of this epoch making project is because the world has gone digital and news can no longer wait like it was.
”We decided to have a more proactive way instead of waiting to produce our newspapers and magazines that takes a long time.
”We need to report timely events within and outside the school, hence the initiative which was solely the idea of the students.
”With this, we decided to have a strong and reliable online presence,” Suleiman said.
He said the project was also the students’ way of giving back to the school as a form of community service whose spirit had been inculcated in them.
Provost of the College of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Prof. Kazeem Gbolagade, also commended the students for coming up with such laudable initiative.
Gbolagade said the project would be a stepping stone to greater achievement in the department and College of ICT as a whole.
President of the Mass Communication Students Association (MACOSA), Mr Abdulmumeen Adegboye, said the project was their way of giving back to the school as well as making learning much easier for students.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that facilities in the digital newsroom, which was named after the former VC, Prof. Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, included internet Reuter, smart screen television, 19 laptops and cameras. (NAN)
